NONLEAGUE: The Sea Hawks eventually wear down Serra, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter.

By John Klima

STAFF WRITER

This was a slowdown more than it was a showdown.

Certainly neither Serra nor host Redondo expected this kind of contest Friday night, much less that the game would be decided in the final minute.

But Redondo picked the right time to assemble the game’s best drive, capped when fullback Joe Rubio plowed his way into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds to play, breaking a tie and lifting Redondo to a 20-13 nonleague victory over the previously undefeated Cavaliers.

Serra quarterback Ted Landers threw a desperation pass downfield from Serra’s 36-yard line with 6 seconds to play. The ball fell untouched and served as a perfect example of a Serra offense that never got going and spent most of the game asking Landers and running back Carl Winston to save its perfect record.

Redondo (2-2) won its second consecutive game with a fourth-quarter effort in which it scored 14 of its points.

Serra (3-1), which did not score in the first half and scored only one offensive touchdown, tied the score at 13 with 4:14 to play when Malcolm Murray intercepted Erik Wilson’s pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.

Redondo got the ball back at its own 25-yard line and went to work.

Redondo marched 75 yards in 10 plays with Rubio rushing six times for 46 yards. He carried the ball the last three times on the game-winning drive, including a 20-yard grind that took his team to the Serra 15-yard line.

Rubio said Redondo struggled to pick up Serra’s defense in the first half, which resulted in a 6-0 Redondo lead, but agreed that Redondo’s final drive might have been its best of the season.

“As tired as we were, we kept driving,” said Rubio, who rushed for 100 yards on 19 carries.

Serra’s offense ended the game the way it spent much of it – trying to get something started.

“Youth will get exploited, especially on offense,” Serra coach Scott Altenberg said. “We have to get healthy and we have to have to get old fast.”

Landers completed 9 of 19 passes for 129 yards, but threw two interceptions, was frequently hurried, and had passes dropped.

Serra, which has 16 underclassman starters, was playing without two starting offensive linemen. Center Rudy Gomez and guard Darrell Allen missed the game with injuries.

Redondo’s defense exploited that weakness. Running back Winston was held to 95 yards on 18 carries. He scored Serra’s only offensive touchdown with a 6-yard run on the Cavaliers’ opening drive of the second half.

A team with a reputation for starting slow, Serra played better in the third quarter, but couldn’t find a formula.

“How many times were we in the red zone?” Altenberg asked. “And we only got one score. It’s a problem and we’re going to address it.”

Serra was at the Redondo 14-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but fumbled.

Redondo quarterback Erik Wilson completed a 57-yard pass to the Serra 13-yard line, and Rubio finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run to give Redondo a 13-6 lead with 11:07 to play.

Rubio and running back Hayward Gray combined for nearly 200 rushing yards. Gray rushed 16 times for 94 yards and scored on a 1-yard run for the only touchdown in the first half.

“We finally found a way to get it done,” Gray said. “We feel like we’ve been playing a lot better in the last two weeks.”

Rubio said that once center Kyle McManus adjusted to the Serra defense and played better in the second half, Redondo’s confidence and execution improved.

“We were waiting for him to get in the zone. Once he did, we started clicking,” Rubio said. “Once we started getting used to what kind of blitzes (Serra) was showing us, we were able to do what we needed.”

Redondo needed a victory to reach the .500 mark. They got that, even if they had to slog a tad longer than they would have liked.

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